Super Scion:Hero – The Gadgeteer
Name: Ajit Kulkarni, Scion of Sarasvati
Skills/Abilities: Expert Engineering and Mechanical Skills, Electrical Generation, Technopathy, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Intelligence
Nature: Architect
Virtues: Intellect, Endurance, Harmony, Order
Birthrights: Circuit Mandala Tattoo-Delicate circuitry embedded directly into his flesh that enhances his technical skills and allows him to produce and conduct electricity with his body. Gadget Pouch-This dimensionally transcendental container can hold anything that will fit through its opening. Kanta Bachchan-Personal Assistant who is mostly concerned with reminding her boss to eat and that he needs to make occasional appearances to convince the board of his father’s company that he’s still alive.
Gear: Laser Gauntlet, Plasma Rifle, Souped Up Moped, Plans For Power Armor
Genre: Modern Fantasy/RPG
Affiliation: Artisans’ Guild
Ajit’s father had always said his mother was a goddess. He had always thought that was a mere exaggeration. I mean, sure she had been pretty, but a goddess, that was just too far. He was working late, as usual, when he heard a soft, musical voice calling to him. He followed the sound until he was struck with a blinding light. Within the light, the goddess Sarasvati appeared to him. She told him that he had his mother’s eyes, that the creativity he showed in his designs made him worthy of the gifts she was about to bestow, that these gifts came with danger as well. Then, she opened his mind and everything rushed in. Everything. The precise orbits of the planets, the dance of molecules in a drop of water, the harmonic overtones in a singer’s voice. At the same time, he could feel himself changing. His senses sharpening, his reflexes quickening, the subtle crackle of electricity surging through him. He had no idea how long he spent lost in the sheer sensory overload. It finally ended in sweet, cool darkness with the voice saying, “Child, make the world a better place. And prepare for what is coming.”
“Boss, Boss, wake up.”
Ajit opened his eyes and saw the panic in the eyes of his Personal Assistant, Ms. Bachchan.
“Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake. I was this close to calling the paramedics,” she said.
“What? Why?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you’ve been missing for a week and I just found you passed out on the floor! Wait. What’s that?” she said, touching the delicate, silver wiring on his chest.
“It’s…” He looked down at his chest, then felt his face with his hand. “I…I don’t think I’m human anymore.”
“Maybe I should call them anyway. They might be able to help with that.”
“No need. I need to get to my lab,” he said, struggling to get to his feet.
“Of course you do,” she said, helping him up. “You know, Boss, we still need to contact the police, have them call off the search. And they called a board meeting to figure out what to do if you were found dead in a ditch somewhere. Since you’re not dead, you should probably show up for that.” They go past the desk and into Ajit’s lab.
“Have to prepare for what’s coming. Have to prepare for what’s coming. Have to prepare for what’s coming,” he said over and over again, rushing over and furiously scribbling notes at his desk.
“What’s coming, Boss?”
“The end of the world as we know it.”
“Look, right now, you sound like a crazy person. I’m going to leave you to…whatever it is you’re doing. I’ll handle the phone calls and the paperwork. Hopefully, you’ll calm down. Just be ready to deal with people in a couple days. And don’t forget to eat. I don’t want to have to pick you up off the floor again.”
“Ms. Bachchan,” he said, turning to look at her.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Thank you,” he said and turned back to furiously scribbling.
Two Days Later
Ms. Bachchan entered the lab carrying a fresh set of clothes. On the table next to the door sat a bowl of uneaten, now cold, noodles.
“Your meeting is in three hours, Boss. You should get cleaned up.”
“Sorry, I lost track of time. I’ll be in the shower,” he said, taking the clothes and walking to the bathroom door. After she heard the sounds of the shower coming from behind the door, Ms. Bachchan looked around the room. There were stacks of papers covered in measurements and designs, as usual, but also other notes, lists of the names of gods and demons, and symbols of indecipherable meaning.
“You wrote all this in two days?” she asked as he came out of the shower.
“I had to get as much down as I could, before it all left me.”
“Before what all left you? What actually happened?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.”
“I’ve been listening to you ramble for two days. Try me.”
“I had my brain hacked by a goddess. Briefly felt what it was like to possess all human knowledge. It was beautiful and terrifying.”
“Why terrifying?”
“Climate change, terrorist groups, the sheer number of nuclear warheads in existence…”
“Is that what you meant by the end of the world as we know it?”
“If only. There’s much worse….Wait, did you hear that?” he said, looking around.
“Hear what?”
“In the air vents. Get to the workbench!” he said, touching the circuitry on his chest, causing it to briefly glow blue with electricity.
“Why?”
“Just go!” he said, starting to sprint across the room. At that moment, they burst into the room. Dozens of tiny flying creatures. They headed straight for Ajit, teeth and talons bared. One landed on him, knocked him to the ground, and tore away at his flesh. There came a crackle of electricity and the creature attacking him briefly went limp. Then, he ran to join Ms. Bachchan by the workbench in the corner.
“I have superpowers now, but they’re really lame ones. It will be awhile before I can do that again.”
“Is this why you wanted to come over here?” Ms. Bachchan said, gesturing to the gigantic gun laying on the table.
“Yeah,” he said reaching into the pouch on his belt and taking out a gauntlet.
“Boss, aren’t you going to use the…”
“Plasma rifle? I can’t even lift the thing, much less handle the recoil. It’s for you, Ms. Bachchan,” he said, aiming his wrist laser at the oncoming little beasts.
“Nice. What even are these things?” she said, picking up the massive gun and using it to knock one of the critters off her leg.
“They’re nasty little demons trying to kill us, is further explanation necessary at this time?”
“Nope, where’s the on button on this thing?”
“Press the button on the top to power it up. You have five shots with a wide dispersal that really pack a wallop. Make them count.”
“Got it, Boss,” she said over the whine of the power up sequence.
Later
“Don’t forget your shirt or your speech,” Ms. Bachchan said to the hastily bandaged Ajit.
“Speech?” he asked as he gingerly pulled his shirt on over his head.
“You had some good ideas among all your ramblings of doom and gloom. I took the liberty of translating them from crazy person,” she said, handing him a stack of note cards.
“What would I do without you?”
“Probably starve. Now look those over while I attempt to break the ice.”
She walked into the boardroom and up to the podium. “I apologize for the commotion. There was a slight vermin problem, but it has been taken care of with fire. I now present our wayward engineer, Ajit Kulkarni.”
He entered the room on unsteady feet and leaned heavily on the podium. “Thank you,” he said. “I am sincerely sorry for any distress my absence may have caused this company. I was not kidnapped and I am not, in fact, dead in a ditch. I was off on my own, doing some much needed soul searching. And I have changed, hopefully for the better. I realized is that the end of the world as we know it is part of the natural cycle of things. If humanity does not prepare for the drastic changes that are coming, they will go extinct with all the other obsolete ideas on this planet. With that in mind, I think that…” He put his hand to his head, “I think that.”
“Is he okay?” asked one of the board members.
“I feel dizzy,” he said, then he crumpled to the floor.
“What happened?” said Ajit’s father, rushing forward.
“He hasn’t slept since I found him,” Ms. Bachchan said, helping Ajit sit up.
“Is that blood?” his father asked, pointing at the stain on his shirt. “What really happened?”
“I’m not helping you with this explanation. Hold this,” she said, handing Ajit a gauze pad.
“Well,” said Ajit, pressing the gauze to his side “to begin with, you were right. Mother was a goddess.”
“Everyone out,” his father said.
“What?” asked a board member.
“I said out!”
“Fine,” said the board member as they filed out of the room. When they had all left, Ajit’s father said, “So, son, what’s it like being infused with divine power?”
“It hurts. A lot.”
